Thursday, October 30, 2008

Here is another card with Melanie's set A Year of Flowers. I masked the center flower to stamp the background flowers. Although it appears that the flowers are cut out---they are just colored with Copics to achieve that depth!

The background is created with my Scor-Pal! The sentiment is from Asela's set Botanical Dreams. I just cut it out after stamping and mounted it on top of a chipboard slider that I colored with a black Copic marker.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

This is one of the sweetest Christmas stamps I have ever seen. I posted before with this Manger Kisses stamp a few weeks ago and the stamp was sold out. If you are one of those who emailed asking when Michelle would have them back in stock---today is your lucky day. She now has a few of these in stock at her store Stamper's Dream.

I paired this image with My Mind's Eye dp....I love the richness of the color and the music in the background. I added a sentiment to this which was concealed in the previous picture. All you do is pull on the hemp....and out slides the Christmas Peace sentiment which reads: "May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through." Love that!

I colored the main image with Copic markers. All panels are sponged with caramel ink. I created the border on the bottom with the Threading Water punch and some May Arts ribbon that matched the dp perfectly. To add a heavenly glow, I added gold stickles to the angel's wings.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Today, I have a special surprise for one of you. Papercrafts has released another mouthwatering book---PC Gourmet and I have an extra copy to give away! This beautiful book would make the perfect holiday gift (for yourself!) or for that special friend who loves cooking and crafting. The book features over 50 original recipes AND over 110 projects to showcase the culinary treats.

Here is a sneak peek at a recipe and a project from the book. Both were created by PC Pro Alisa Bangerter.

Cheesy Garlic Drop BiscuitsBy: Alisa Bangerter

This is a perfect recipe to pull out if you are short on time because there is no rolling or cutting. The cheese and garlic add extra kick to a plain biscuit, and kids love them. They are the perfect accompaniment to serve with soups or stews, and are great served with a salad.INGREDIENTS2 c. flour2 tbsp. granulated sugar4 tsp. baking powder1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder1/2 tsp. salt2/3 c. butter or margarine1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese1 1/4 c. milkChives (optional)DIRECTIONSMix together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter until mixture is fine. Add cheese and mix well. Add milk and stir until just moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Sprinkle top with chopped dried or fresh chives if desired. Bake at 400 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.

I cannot wait to get my hands on this book. And lucky for you, PaperCrafts is sending me an extra copy so that I can send it to one of YOU. Just post a comment on this thread by Friday, October 31, at 5:00 p.m. central time. One winner will be selected at random using Random. Cara. (I am sorry but this contest is only open to U.S. Residents.)

For those of you interested in purchasing copies as gifts, you can preorder your copies HERE!

Monday, October 27, 2008

It's Monday and time for our CCEE challenge. This week our challenge is a supply challenge. Each month, one CCEE member sends everyone on our team supplies and instructions for our cards that week. This month Cindy Motherway organized our supplies for us. Heather the owner of H & M Stamps was kind enough to send Cindy enough of A Lil' Behind stamp sets to send to each of the CCEE girls so this set is what we are using for our challenge today. (FYI: Cindy Motherway was the creative mind behind this set! Isn't it cute!)

Dawn who was organizing the challenges for this month also added an additional clause to this challenge which was to use chipboard somewhere on our card.

My first card I created is a shadowbox card. You can find a tutorial on how to make these fun 3D cards here! The sentiment reads "Just a little behind!"I used chipboard flanked with dimensionals to give the cow some extra depth on the inside of the box.

Materials used: A Lil' Behind (H & M Stamps); cardstock- vanilla, chocolate chip (SU!); designer paper (SU!); label punch and oval punch (SU!); Scor-Pal; Spellbinders oval Nestabilities; Copic markers; chipboard; dimensionals (SU!); slit punch (SU!); ribbon (Offray). And here is a quick 10 minute card I did with the same image. The background is scored with my Scor-Pal but it doesn't show up well in the photo. This card was fast and easy! The sentiment on this reads "Enjoy life and NEVER look back." Love that!

Kim is a fabulous designer and illustrator...her flair for the funky, trendy and just plain fun comes out in every creation she makes and every stamp she illustrates.

Almost two months ago, (ok...I actually have no idea how long ago it was but two months sounded good!) I sent Kim a message asking if she would be so kind to donate a card to a worthy cause. I KNEW anyone who won the Heart to Heart blog candy would be thrilled to own a Kim Hughes original. I really wasn't sure what would happen...although many agreed to send a card (a few did not even acknowledge the email!) Kim wrote back and said that she wanted to send a card AND a stamp set....

She did and even included a little note for me THANKING ME for asking HER! It is the things like this that make people special in my mind---you can have an awful LOT of talent but if you don't have much else---you really don't have much.

She included Twink the owl (I LOVE him!) and some fun embellishments for me to play with! So in honor of one of the most rockingist-stamping-superstars-with-a-huge-heart---here is my ode to Kim:

From the bottom of my heart Kim---you are a gem. Talent and Heart...that is what I like about you! (Feel free to sing that song all day now! insert evil laugh!)

Before I go, I just want to let you know that you can find Kim's collection of whimsical and adorable stamps HERE!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Just a little tag I created with My Favorite Things Boho Blossoms (one of my favorite MFT sets of all time!) The heart and sentiment are white embossed. The chipboard (SU!) tag is covered with this fun Memory Box paper. I added some fun texture with the ribbon and the rhinestones, button and flower. Pretty easy...I love making tags---the perfect thing to create when you don't have lots of time!!!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

For those of you who do not know...this week Gina K, Stamping Bella and Papertrey Ink are hosting a cruise. While they are having fun stamping, sipping martinis and feeling the cool ocean breezes....we are NOT!Sob...

To help ourselves feel just a bit better, we had a Land Cruisers party in the Gina K Forum last night. It was lots of fun....and there was a few AWESOME codes given out that are good for today only!

There were also three card challenges---you can find them all in the Gina K Forum. You can find my challenge info HERE! A random winner will be drawn on Saturday morning.The winner gets their choice of any set from Gina K Designs valued at $19.95 or less!!! Here is the card I made for my challenge--

I used the Just keep Swimming bird. I LOVE his expression...looks like he is about to soil his feathers seeing that big wave coming at him! I used my Scor-Pal to add some texture to the background. I used the Swirls embossing folder and cut out a few of them to make into waves.

Here is a close up of the waves---I added some stickles glitter to make them sparkly and wet looking!!!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Here it is...I know you thought I forgot but I didn't! I just wanted to have the time to make another box!

For this one-I made a box to house some cookies..yummy! The stamps are from Asela Hopkins' set called Christmas Blessings, available at Gina K Designs. I used some more stickers from the I Wish Stampin' Up! collection (because they were still sitting on my desk!)

Step 7: Apply Scor-Tape to the flaps that will fold behind sides as shown. Tip: Only take off the top strip right before you are ready to adhere the flap! (See next picture for visual of adhering sides.)

Step 8: Adhere one flap and then adhere the other flap that is connected. It makes it much easier this way. (Adhere flap 1, then 2, then 3, then 4) See photo below for numbering.

This is what you end up with:

Decorate as you wish! This time I created a cookie holder. (Nope, I didn't make the cookies--I have NO culinary skills. But I like to buy good food!)

This is a simple box but it has lots of uses! Play around with it. You can add handles on the sides or even a basket top. You can use it for a treat container, an Easter basket, a gift card holder, an ornament holder, a card box, etc. Have fun! If you make a box using this tutorial, I would love to see it. Just leave a link in the comments section!

Reminder: Gina K Designs is holding a Land Cruisers Party in the forum tomorrow night (Wednesday!) from 7-10 p.m. Central time! You won't want to miss it!!!

Monday, October 20, 2008

This week for our CCEE challenge, we had to create a "Winter-themed" suspension card. I thought these snowflake dies from Spellbinders (Snowflake Wonder) would make the perfect suspended object so I went from there.

I actually love how this turned out (I hardly ever say that either!) but wait till you see the neat shadows in the next picture and then you will understand why!

I used my Circle nestabilities to create the holes in the top layers. I layered the die cut (and embossed) snowflakes and adhered the floss inside the flakes. The white layer is embossed with the Swiss Dots embossing folder.

The sentiment is from Rupa Shevede's set The Magic of Christmas by Gina K Designs. I love the font of this!

Of course I added some rhinestone bling to this---kind of helped make it more magical!

I LOVE this picture. Look at the cool shadow that appears inside the card from the suspended snowflake. Yeppers--THAT is why I love this card so muchly!

You can find the awesome snowflake Spellbinders dies and the Cuttlebug embossing folder at Stamper's Dream Store!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The 20th of the month is celebrate MFT day! Upload your MFT creations and post a link on the thread in the My Favorite Things forum on Splitcoaststampers!

Here is my MFT creation for the day. (I am posting early to help spread the word about it!)I used the adorable Hey Chica! set from MFT - BC Dzyns line!

I stamped the image on designer paper and then again on white cardstock. I pieced her outfit to match the background. I love this paper by Basic Grey--totally fits with this set!

I blinged this card out---placing the rhinestones all around the image to the "rockstar" sentiment and also on the corners of the card and all along the largest star. ahhh.....if only they were real diamonds!Sigh!

Here is a close up of the image:

Isn't she fun? Love her look. I added a diamond necklace and a hair ribbon (regular ribbon that I pulled around her hair.)

Gina K Designs is holding a "Land Cruise" on Wednesday October 22 from 7-10 Central time in the Gina K forum on Splitcoaststampers. Just a fun night to get together and try to have more fun than all those stampers who are on the cruise this week! lol! We are going to have lots of fun challenges, contests and an awesome Land Cruise special---you have to attend to find out what it is! Hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by! (Yes, the box tutorial is coming--had a busy weekend!)

Friday, October 17, 2008

Continuing with my goal of honoring the companies who graciously donated to the Heart to Heart Blog candy, today I am featuring VERVE VISUAL.

Julee Tilman is the owner and illustrator of VERVE and she is also a FABULOUS designer. Her cards leave me speechless so (unfortunately) I spent more time second guessing my projects than actually designing them!

The first project is a card that features Abundant Blessings. I stamped the ferns and brown accents first on vanilla cardstock. I stamped the flower images each one time on white cardstock and colored them with Copics. Then, I applied a layer of Shimmerz Paints over the marker (I used Sunflower and Pumpkin Pie.) I also outlined the tag and the vanilla main piece with Sunflower Shimmerz to add some sparkle and color to the edges. I added some Olive Shimmerz to the greenery. I attached each layer of the flower with a dimensional--to give it a lot of depth. I curled the edges of the flower to make it look more realistic.

Finally, I added some crystal stickles to add even more shine. I completed the card by adding some raffia and matting the main panel on brown cardstock that I scored with my Scor-Pal. On the mustard layer I added some piercings.

Here is the flower close up:

You can see a bit more shimmer in this picture although it is much more sparkly in real life.

And here is a cute little project that features Some Bunny. I love this stamp! I thought this would make a perfect tag for this white pail I found at the dollar store (3 for $1--SCORE!) This would make an adorable shower favor (maybe I can convince my little sister to have another girl so I can make these!) or even a little lift for a friend.

I stamped the sentiment "Some bunny loves you" in black Staz On right onto the pail. Worked perfectly. I added a bit of ribbon and the candy and done! Easy to mass produce but sooo cute.

Here is a better view of the sentiment stamped on the pail:

Thank you Julee / Verve Visual for your generous donation to the Heart to Heart Blog Candy. You are amazingly talented and have a big HEARTtoo!

I created this little gift card set---the card measures 3" by 3". It is the perfect size to showcase any of the flowers and small enough to be able to complete the project quickly.I simply stamped the flower, colored it with Copic markers and used my Scor-Pal to create the border around the image. Aside from providing a nice embossed edge, the border made it super easy to stamp the sentiment and align the little black crystal stickers.

REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION

Here is the little gift bag. I originally purchased the little clear box of small cards at Michael's (in the $1 bin!) I gave all the cards that the box came with to my son (who is always wanting lots of things to add to his "school"!) I kept the clear box and small envelopes. So, all I had to do was create the new gift card and add the hemp braided handle and bow. The hemp handle is attached through holes punched with the Cropadile on the sides of the box.

This card is from Amber (the winner of the Heart to Heart blog candy)! She send me this beauty to thank me (how sweet!) for all the fun goodies. She used my set Whimsical Autumn, that benefits the Alzheimer's Association, which totally warmed my heart! I love this card---the colors are fabulous. Thanks so very much, Amber. Glad you are enjoying your new stuff!

Denise sent this gorgeous creation to me just to let me know that she was so proud of me for all the Alzheimer's fundraising and cardraising!!!!! She also used Whimsical Autumn on this--Love it! Thanks so much Denise!

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About Me

I have three wonderful kids and a really supportive husband!
In my spare time, I enjoy running, cardmaking, scrapbooking, creating altered items and doing anything crafty!
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